New York Giants: Report card grades vs. Patriots in Week 6

Big Blue was singing the blues after a 35-14 loss to the Patriots on Thursday Night Football but here’s how the New York Giants graded out in the loss.

The New York Giants took one on the chin Thursday night in Foxborough, dropping a 35-14 decision to the world champion New England Patriots. The G-Men actually hung in there for the first three quarters but four miscues ultimately led to their demise.

Big Blue dipped to 2-4 with the setback while the Pats climbed to 6-0. Despite the lopsided final score, the Giants didn’t get embarrassed completely by perhaps the best team in the NFL to this point in the season.

Here are the New York Giants’ report card grades for this matchup.

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Offense

Golden Tate finally made his mark with a brilliant 64-yard catch and run on a fly pattern from the slot to pull the Giants within 14-7 in the second quarter. Tate finished with six receptions for a team-high 102 yards.

Rookie quarterback Daniel Jones led Tate perfectly with that toss but otherwise struggled to recognize defensive coverages during the game. The Duke product completed just 15 of 31 passes for 161 yards, one score and three interceptions. This is all part and parcel of the learning process for a rookie signal-caller in the NFL.

Saquon Barkley (ankle) missed his third straight game and can’t return soon enough. Halfback Jonathan Hilliman (11 carries for 38 yards) coughed up the ball on a screen pass and Kyle Van Noy rambled 22 yards for a Patriots touchdown to lift the winners to a 28-14 lead. The Giants also missed Wayne Gallman (concussion) and Evan Engram (knee) as they could muster just 10 first downs and 213 total yards.

Grade: D

Defense

Julian Edelman carved the G-Men up with a game-high nine catches for 113 yards while Tom Brady finished with 334 passing yards, one interception and no touchdown passes. He did have two short touchdown bursts though.

Despite allowing 27 first downs and 427 yards from scrimmage, Big Blue had some fine defensive efforts. Markus Golden scooped up a Brady fumble and raced 42 yards for a touchdown. Janoris Jenkins added a 62-yard interception return while David Mayo chipped in with a game-high 13 tackles and a half-sack. Big Blue recorded three sacks of Brady in all.

Grade: C-

Special Teams

One of the key plays of the entire game came in the first quarter when Riley Dixon, punting from his own 6-yard line, had his boot blocked by Brandon Bolden. Chase Winovich scooped up the pigskin and raced into the end zone to give New England an early 7-0 advantage. This play set the tempo for what was an ugly game on both sides.

Aldrick Rosas converted both PATs but did not have any field goal attempts. Due to the blocked punt touchdown, the Giants get a failing grade here.

Grade: F